By Kami-Leigh Agard

In many South American countries, the greeting “Buena Onda” means “good vibes” or “good waves” in Spanish, and since a chance encounter while surfing Rockaway’s cold waves in the winter of 2019, Camila Morales and Dominika Ksel, both of Chilean descent, have teamed up to do just that: bring good vibes to Rockaway residents who crave art with an ecological twist. From their first “Sonic Constellation,” featuring a gigantic cloud-like chandelier made from recycled bottles and fitted with LED lights under the elevated train line at Beach 60th during COVID, to workshops on game design, stop motion, 2D and 3D animation, ways to use AI to create artwork, audio workshops, 3D modeling, beach cleanups and more—in just five years since their chance meeting—Morales and Ksel have made a splash by transforming Rockaway from a desert into an oasis of ecological art for curious enthusiasts.

Just last Sunday, Morales and Ksel led a free workshop on 3D printing at their Buena Onda Art Lab in Arverne View (Beach 56th Place). Participants were treated to a two-hour class where they learned how to create their own 3D object. According to reviews, participants were excited about the knowledge, not to mention that the class was free. Far Rockaway resident Dimitri King said, “I’ve always wanted to take a class on 3D printing, but it’s expensive and I couldn’t believe I could finally do it for free.”

Morales, co-founder of Buena Onda, is originally from Chile but is Canadian. She is an interdisciplinary designer who earned a Masters in Architecture from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University of Maryland. Ksel is originally from Poland, lived in the US and spent time in Chile. She went to Hunter for her Bachelors and Masters in Documentary Film and Combined Interactive Media.

However, it is not their academic degrees that set these two ladies apart, but their unwavering passion for bringing the arts to urban beach communities like Rockaway.

Ksel said, “We both see ourselves as educators, and it’s a really important part for us as a team to share the knowledge we’ve gained throughout our lives with others and also work with the community to learn from them. It’s a knowledge exchange. We found that there was a desert of art here in Rockaway and places for the community to come together. So Camila and I worked hard to find ways to get people excited about learning new things like 3D printing, which can seem intimidating at first.

“We work to help people overcome their technophobia. They learn to become familiar with different technologies and tools to create and build the worlds they want to see. In our workshops, we try to focus the lessons on environmental or social and environmental justice issues. With each workshop, we want to make people feel like they can use these different technologies.”

Morales added, “As educators, we’re particularly excited about RISE (Rockaway Initiative for Sustainability and Equity) and the local urban surf collective Laru Beya because it’s the youth. We’ve discovered this group of kids and community that doesn’t have access to the things we teach at universities.

“What really brought this to a head was COVID. There was no place for the community to really gather and have these opportunities and spaces for creativity. So Dominika and I started brainstorming about what we could do to make a difference, even by helping to expand someone’s profession. Maybe they don’t have access to a 3D printer, for example. And then suddenly they’re in this place where they’re learning and demystifying 3D printing and becoming these amazing 3D industrial designers. We really care about this community and we want residents to have access to knowledge.”

The dynamic duo stayed true to their Sonic Constellation and rebuilt it after it had to be replaced due to vandalism.

Morale shared, “We connect our work to something that the community feels like they’re a part of. For the Sonic Constellation, we recorded collective sounds from the community in Rockaway that were incorporated into the sculpture. So when you walked under it, not only did you see this big cloud of plastic bottles, but it activated all these different sounds that were happening on the peninsula during COVID. And at night, polar LEDs would glow. So there was a daylife and a nightlife.”

Since scribbling ideas on napkins in 2019, Ksel and Morales have continued their work to make Rockaway a groundbreaking project that combines art and environmental justice.

Their upcoming events include: Saturday, August 24th, 1-3pm, a stop motion animation workshop for youth in collaboration with Materials of the Arts at Arverne Cinema (72-02 Gouverneur Ave.) as part of the 7th Annual Rockaway Film Festival. And on Sunday, September 1st, Buena Onda will partner with NYC Parks to stage the set with cyanotype prints created with the community, including Laru Beya Collective, at the Beach 94th Street Amphitheater for the first-ever Afro-Diasporic Ocean Festival. Special after-party hosted by The Surf Lot on Beach 96th Street.

As Ksel and Morales told it, it started with a chance meeting, then we met over beers and scribbled ideas on napkins. That’s how Buena Onda was born. “After we met, we decided to go for a beer and found out we had both applied for the same art scholarship in Rockaway,” the two ladies said.

And five years later, Buena Onda is breathing good cheer, art and professional ambition into Rockaway.

For more information about Buena Onda and upcoming events, visit: buenaondacollective on Instagram or email: buenaondacollective